The price of dairy feed has climbed rapidly in recent months keeping pace with the price spiral of essential commodities, making farming costlier and raising milk production costs for the millions of farmers in Bangladesh. The animal feed has become dearer after the price of maize and soybean meal — the key ingredients for feed- went up in the global market in recent months, owing to demand recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and supply disruptions.
Prices of grass, straw and bran, which are used by many farmers to feed their cattle, have surged, handing a blow to the dairy industry in Pabna and Sirajganj, one of the biggest milk-producing hubs in Bangladesh. The price of essential commodities has soared in recent times. Due to the price hike of solid materials, the price of bran used in dairy feed has also gone up. The price of a bundle of Napier grass has doubled from Tk 12-15 to Tk 20-25 in a month. Each maund of paddy straw is selling at Tk 500 whereas it was Tk 300 to Tk 350 a month ago, while each kg of oil cake costs Tk 50 at the retail level, up 43 per cent from Tk 35 in February.
Dairy farmers in Pabna and Sirajganj say the price of dairy feed has jumped 30 per cent to 40 per cent in the last few weeks. As a result, they are incurring losses for milk production. The cost of producing milk has gone up from Tk 48 to Tk 50 a kg due to the soaring feed price. Throughout the pandemic, farmers have experienced huge losses. If the price hike continues, farmers have to sell their livestock. If milk prices increase, it will be an extra burden for consumers and help farmers continue their production. The government should take a balanced strategy to win both.
